Changemaker Project: Community OR Individual Change Initiative

MBAC6233.10
Stephanie Gilbert
Fall 2024

You will use course concepts to plan and enact positive change over 21 days. The purpose of this
assignment is to help you develop a sense of agency in enacting change and understand what
people face when experiencing change. Please do not choose something that is very easy for you.
The quality of your learning experience depends on whether the change you choose is really
challenging. You will not be graded on your success or failure in implementing the change, but
on your growth in understanding the dynamics involved in dealing with change. However, it is
essential to make your best effort for the full 3 weeks. Please inform me at least a week before
the project starts what change you have chosen. Additionally, you are to inform at least one other
person in your life, maybe a parent, partner, roommate, coworker, or supervisor. You have two
options for this project: changemaking in 1) the CBU campus or broader community, or 2) in
your personal life. Project objectives are to:
1. Identify a problem or issue that you would like to help ameliorate.
2. Use course lessons to develop a plan for implementing your change.
3. Put your plan in place, track progress, and evaluate success
4. Critically reflect on change experience to elaborate on lessons learned, integrate theory and
experience, and articulate implications of lessons learned for future change efforts.

Option #1: Changemaking in the Community

(Students may work in pairs or groups of up to 4)

For the first option, you will spend 21 days planning and implementing a change effort at CBU
or in your community. Some examples could include improving climate change reduction
efforts, food security, or accessibility on campus, promoting student well-being, mental health
awareness, or inclusion on campus, running a clothing or food drive, volunteering or fundraising
for a cause, developing an MBA peer support program, share your skills by teaching them to
others, working towards Truth and Reconciliation. The idea here is that you identify an issue that
you would like to change, improve, or resolve. Once you identify the issue, you will have to
determine how or by what process you will attempt to address the problem. Who are the people
from whom you need to garner support? How are you going to frame the problem so that others
will understand the issue and be motivated to take part in helping you address it? What tasks
need to be completed to address the issue? Who do you need support from? Students? Faculty?
Administration? Do you need to raise awareness? A petition? Money? How are you going to
explain the issue in a way that attracts others to the urgency of the problem and how you plan to
fix it? Then your task will be to implement your plan. How will you generate support? How will
you know if you have succeeded? Framing the issue in an appropriate manner to generate
attention and support will be critical for the success of your initiative.
Option #2: Personal Changemaking
(Individual Work Only)

The second option is to initiate a personal change for 3 weeks. By personal change, I mean
refraining from a behavior that is more like a habit to you or starting a new habit. You may
choose to abstain from using a mood-altering substance (e.g., alcohol, tobacco, caffeine, sugar),
food, or activity (e.g., watching TV/Netflix (binge or otherwise), spending time on the
computer/smartphone (outside work such as social media, gaming), shopping for leisure (online
or otherwise). Or maybe you would like to start a new positive daily habit (e.g., daily exercise,
meditation, organization routine, a new time management strategy, or adding one new person to
your personal or professional network daily). The possibilities are endless!
Assessment

For either changemaking option, you are required to submit your written work individually.
Presentations may be done in your small groups for the community change option.
Daily Diary Entries
You will maintain a daily diary (for 21 days) describing and reflecting on your personal
experience, with one (1) entry per day describing your experiences, thoughts, feelings, successes,
and struggles. Each day’s entry should be a short paragraph (3-5 sentences). It is okay if you do
not experience anything significant; merely make a note of it. The full set of diary entries will
comprise 10% of your final grade.
Write about anything relevant to your experience on each day. If you need direction, you may
consider responding to one or two of the following questions (do not answer all in one entry):
• Your reasons for choosing the specific change experience
• Your day-to-day experiences. Is it difficult? If yes, why (try to look for more profound
reasons). If not, then why not?
• How is it going and what progress are you making towards your change? What
adjustments to your plan or what additional support may be needed?
• How do you feel physically (energy, fitness, etc.) and mentally (motivation, emotions,
confidence, self-efficacy, etc.)?
• What are you learning about yourself?
• What are you learning about managing change?
Final Paper
You will also write a 5-7-page double-spaced reflection and analysis about how this experience
will help you in understanding or working with executing organizational change. Be specific and
strongly apply course concepts to your experience. You are expected to draw heavily on relevant
literature and course readings in your analysis, using APA style citation (see below for help).
Consider the following reflection questions when writing this paper:
1. What course concepts emerged as key themes of your own change experience? Describe
each one, relate to course content, and connect to your experience using examples.
2. To what extent were you successful in your change plan? Analyze the factors that
contributed to success or failure, based on course concepts. What, if anything, would you
do differently if you repeated the project?
3. What are your key takeaways from the experience that could help you manage personal
or work-related change in the future?
You will submit your diaries and the final paper together in one document and this report is due
on November 18th, 2024 by 4pm and must be submitted via the Moodle Turnitin
assignment. The final report, including diaries and reflection paper, will together comprise 30%
of students’ final grade. A marking rubric is provided below.
Presentation
In our final class on November 22nd, 2024, students will give a brief (5-10 minute)
presentation about the general nature of their experience and key takeaways for managing
personal and organizational change, with special focus on the course concepts that are illustrated
in the change experience. Students should use visual aids such as Powerpoint or Prezi. Personal
or intimate details about the change experience are not necessary here, and the focus is rather on
overarching takeaways and applications/examples of course concepts. Students doing the project
in a group will present as a group and all group members will receive the same mark. The
presentation will comprise 10% of students’ overall grade. A marking rubric is provided below.
Missed Presentations: Students will receive a mark of zero for not taking part in presentations unless
justified by an illness or emergency.

APA Style Citations and Referencing

I expect students to use accurate APA style citing and referencing. Students must provide a
citation within the paper wherever an idea is taken from a source (i.e., it is not your original
thought or idea, but someone else’s). Each citation must then have a matching reference in the
reference list at the end of the paper. You can reference the CBU Library guide to APA for
Business here, or the OWL Purdue APA guide here. If you need help with writing or with
referencing, please don’t hesitate to book and appointment to review your paper draft with the
CBU Writing Centre in advance of the assignment deadline.
Here is an example of one of our course readings referenced in APA format:
Marion, J., & Lewis, J. (2020). Chapter 9: The road to success. In J. Marion & J. Lewis (Eds.),
How to Fail at Change Management: A Manager’s Guide to the Pitfalls of Managing Change
(pp. 89-133). New York: Business Expert Press.
This chapter would be cited in parentheses as (Marion & Lewis, 2020) or an in-text example:
“Marion and Lewis (2020) argued that…”
Use of AI
Artificial intelligence tools (e.g., ChatGPT) have the potential to improve the quality of student
papers by assisting with idea generation, helping to structure papers, and helping with editing.
When AI is used in these ways for assignments, students must identify and reference the tool
in their paper and explain how it was used by providing the prompt [e.g., Chat-GPT-3.
(YYYY, Month DD of query). “Text of your query.” Generated using OpenAI.
[Link] To not do so is a form of plagiarism and will be treated as such if
detected. Students using these tools will also be held responsible- ethically and intellectually- for
their everything generated by these tools; you’re entirely responsible for any ensuing errors or
imperfections in your research, reasoning, and writing introduced by the tool (including but not
limited to “hallucinations,” incorrect facts, repetitiveness, dull style, a lack of ethical
commitment, equivocations). Students should not trust anything these tools say and must fact-
check any information provided with valid, credible sources. References generated by such tools
are often fake or sometimes irrelevant and must be checked. Whatever time or effort you might
save by using a given tool, you may lose in fixing the problems it introduced. All student papers
will be submitted via Turnitin and students who have written papers that are flagged as heavy use
of AI through this tool may be asked to provide a verbal overview of their report to show they
understand and have contributed to the writing or may be asked to rewrite the paper. AI tools
should NOT be used during in-class assignments or assessments, which are designed to assess
student knowledge and/or encourage integrating and creative thinking.

Cheating and Plagiarism

Plagiarism or cheating of any kind will not be tolerated and will result in a grade of zero for the
work in question. The procedures outlined in CBU’s policy on academic responsibility will be
followed. You are responsible for ensuring that you understand the academic integrity policy and
are not in violation.
This course makes use of Turnitin, a third-party application that helps maintain standards of
excellence in academic integrity. Normally, students will be required to submit their course
assignments through Moodle to Turnitin. In doing so, students’ work will be included as source
documents in the Turnitin reference database, where they will be used solely for the purpose of
detecting plagiarized text in this course. Data from submissions is also collected and analyzed by
Turnitin for detecting Artificial Intelligence (AI)-generated text. These results are not reported to
your instructor at this time but could be in the future. Please read Turnitin’s Privacy Policy. If
you object to submitting assignments through Turnitin, please see the instructor early in the term
to arrange an alternative method of assessment that evaluates the integrity of your work.
 Grading Rubric: Written Work

Criteria 1 (Poor) 2 (Fair) 3 (Good) 4 (Very Good) 5 (Excellent)

Maintained and
Maintained and Maintained and Maintained and
Has not maintained reported daily
reported daily reported daily reported daily
Daily Diary Daily experience experiences for
experiences for a few experiences for experiences for all
diaries. almost all (17-20)
(less than 11) days several (12-16) days (21) days
days

Reflection Paper
Deep, thoughtful
Weakly analyzes
Some analysis of Strong analysis of critical analysis of
Little to no critical experience,
experience, experience, tying experience that
analysis; responses responses are mostly
demonstrating basic mainly to assigned extends beyond the
are superficial or restatements of
critical thinking and course materials, course materials, and
purely descriptive. readings.
with limited original offering some includes original
1. Critical Does not link Infrequently links
insight. Sometimes original insights. ideas and critical
Thinking reflection back to reflection back to
links reflection back Links reflection back reflection. Strongly
daily diary entries or daily diary entries
to daily diary entries to daily diary entries links reflection back
provide insights into with little to no
with limited insights with some insights to daily diary entries,
the overall change insights into the
into the overall into the overall with insights into the
process. overall change
change process. change process. overall change
process.
process.
Makes strong, clear
2. Links material to
Fails to connect the Makes some Connects material to connections to course
Connection course concepts well,
material to broader connections, but course concepts with concepts and
to Course with good
course themes lacks depth or clarity basic understanding integrates multiple
Concepts explanations
ideas effectively
3. Partially engages Fully engages with
Responds fully to all
Engagement Little to no with the questions, Answers all each question,
questions with
with engagement with but some are left questions but with offering in-depth,
thoughtful
Reflection discussion prompts unanswered or limited depth well-supported
engagement
Questions incomplete responses
Supports opinions Supports opinions
4. Use of Supports opinions Supports opinions Supports opinions
with neither with limited
Supporting with few rationales with some rationales with strong rationales
rationales nor rationales and
Evidence and evidence. and evidence. and evidence.
evidence. evidence.
Writing is weak,
Good writing, with
Writing is very poor unclear, or verbose, High writing quality
some errors in APA Very good writing
and difficult to with many errors in with strong, clear,
formatting and quality, with mostly
5. Writing understand, with APA formatting and concise writing, using
citation/referencing. correct APA
Quality incorrect APA citation/referencing. correct APA
Missing some formatting and
formatting and no Missing many formatting and
citations or citation/referencing.
citations/references. citations or citation/referencing.
references.
references.
 Grading Rubric: Presentation

Criteria 1 (Poor) 2 (Fair) 3 (Good) 4 (Very Good) 5 (Excellent)

Deep, insightful
No clear
application of course
connection to Minimal Clear, thoughtful
concepts; the student
1. course concepts; connection to Some connections application of
demonstrates a
change initiative is course concepts; a made to course multiple course
Connection thorough
discussed in few references concepts, but lacking concepts to the
to Course isolation without made, but not well- depth or critical change initiative
understanding and
Concepts integration of theories
reference to integrated into the analysis. with good critical
and frameworks into
theories or presentation analysis.
their change
frameworks
experience.

Thorough and
Reflective but
Little to no thoughtful reflection
Some reflection on somewhat limited; Strong reflection on
reflection on the on the entire change
the process, but identifies key the process,
change process; process; student shows
lacking depth or moments but misses identifying
superficial or a clear understanding
2. Quality of personal insight deeper analysis of challenges,
generic of the complexities and
into challenges and lessons learned. successes, and
Reflection statements. Little nuances involved. In-
successes. Some Adequate analysis, insights gained
and Depth of to no analysis;
analysis, but overly but could be deeper; during the change.
depth, thoughtful
Analysis student mainly analysis that
simplistic; lacks student shows Strong analysis with
describes events demonstrates deep
critical engagement understanding but critical insights into
without deeper understanding of both
with the subject misses opportunities the change initiative
examination or the change initiative
matter. for more in-depth and its complexities.
insight and its broader
reflection
implications.

Deep, strategic insights

No clear Key takeaways are Student articulates into how the change
One or two
takeaways or identified and linked clear, thoughtful process will inform
takeaways
3. Key lessons provided; to the experience but lessons and future efforts, with
mentioned, but not
Takeaways vague or missing
clearly articulated
may lack specific actionable specific and applicable
forward-looking application to future takeaways for future lessons for leadership
or actionable
reflections change efforts change initiatives and change
management.

Exceptionally clear,
Presentation is Some structure, but Well-organized and
Presentation is clear engaging, and well-
disorganized, presentation is hard engaging
and reasonably structured
4. unclear, or lacks to follow or lacks presentation;
engaging but may presentation; student
engagement; engagement; student effectively
Engagement difficult to follow. delivery needs
lack polish or
communicates
captivates the audience
and Clarity consistent flow. and communicates
Considerably over improvement. Very ideas. Presentation
Somewhat over or ideas with precision.
or under time much over or under slightly over or
under time limit. Presentation is 5-10
limit. time limit. under time limit.
mins.